Avatar Legends: The RPG
Originally created by Brendan Conway, James Mendez Hodes, Yeonsoo Julian Kim, Sharang Biswas, Daniel Kwan, and Sen-Foong Lim
Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game is set in the universe of the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Players take on the roles of a diverse team of heroes who use martial arts to bend the four elements (or rely on their wits or technology), fight back against injustice, and bring balance to the world. Each character has a central internal conflict they must grapple with in addition to the challenges, action, and physical battles they face on their adventures, and they'll learn new techniques and philosophies as they grow and ultimately change forever. You can set your game of Avatar Legends in any era of the world of Avatar: Korra's age, full of technological advancement, shifting governments, and spiritual turmoil; Aang's era, rebuilding the world in the wake of devastating war; the Hundred Year War itself, where you'll resist the Fire Nation's imperial ambitions; or the Roku era, as nations grow in strength and tensions rise. Adventures can span the wide world and visit locations new and familiar: Wan Shi Tong's library, the Air Temples, even the Spirit World! All the while characters learn new techniques, develop complex relationships, and struggle to find balance within themselves and without.
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Avatar Legends: The RPG Reviews (5)
See what other Game Masters and players are saying about Avatar Legends: The RPG
WickerGames
Ran 1 sessions
This game is amazing! I was a little skeptical how well something like PbtA would translate to the Avatar-verse but after getting a few sessions under my belt, any doubts I had have been swept away. This game *knows* what it’s doing and it knows the type of stories that it wants to tell. If you want to step into the world of Avatar, sign up for a game now!
Sascha
Avatar Legends is a PbTA system based in the Last Airbender & Korra universe, where you can play all types of benders and non-benders, that are not the Avatar, and get together with friends to be heroes. This is not a sandbox morality system, you will always try to be the good hero/ine. However, your character's flaws can obviously muddy the waters a little bit. Mechanically, it's simple. Everything is done via 2d6. There are no passive checks, and only actions where the possibility of failure can drive the story forward too would require a roll, broadly speaking. Combat can be a little tricky to understand at first, but you'll get used to it rather quickly. This is a great system for people who want to have more control over how stories play out. Collaborative writing is big here. I have been a GM for this game for a campaign of 1.5 years, and have been in continuous conversations with my players to write a story for their characters that weave neatly into the greater whole and the other characters' story. The campaign culminated into a very carthartic end, and I think the system helped me and them do that by allowing that control through less randomness in outcomes and thereby giving player's tools to write their own stories. If you like rolling a Nat1 and thinking that the scroll signed by the king in front of you is actually a demonic scroll that you need to destroy and improvizing your character's story on the spot like that, you won't have that here unless your GM plays into that randomness by introducing curveball consequences regardless. In general, play this if you like more control over your story, the Avatar universe, and a less mechanically exhaustive experience.
Chris
Building on a style of system similar to Powered by the Apocalypse, Avatar’s RPG system does a lot of fun things to pull in fans of the show and comics. Players are given the chance to pick the style of their character and the sort of spectrum of emotions and destiny that influence them. They are able to pick a variety of abilities that can be built upon as a character progresses, and they are encouraged to explain bonds between themselves and other player characters in the group, after this, they can also figure out the style of bending they utilize (if any because there’s great options for nonbenders as well!), and the character that comes out as a result feels ready to jump into the world. Characters grow with their experience points, and these points can be used to pursue the sort of character that a player is imagining. The game has sourcebooks for many of its different era’s using the Avatar of that era as an indication to the time frame. You can deal with the fractured earth kingdom and the bandit gangs present in the Kyoshi era, you can deal with the approaching war and political turmoil of the Roku era, you can attempt to recover from the hundred years war and face off against the fire nation with the Aang era, and you can experience the growing shifts in the balance of power as technology grows to become more powerful and prevalent in the Korra era. Each of these timelines introduce new bending styles, stories, and locations to make for an adventure that feels unique no matter when the game is set. For Game Masters, the rules can feel a bit complex compared to other games using the Powered by the Apocalypse style. Trackers to determine the emotions and balance of characters can impact the game, and creating scenarios where these things can be shifted is strongly encouraged as the journey of the character seems to be the greatest focus of this system. There are adventure books that exist, but many of them are single session in style leaving you to create the ties to the adventures or to create your own story how you see fit. I would suggest Avatar to anyone that is in love with the series and the setting and that wants a game that is focused more on the character’s journey rather than the fights that they get into.
Delphi
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game is a Powered by the Apocalypse system that allows players to explore the world of bending in a way that will make you feel like you are a part of the beloved show. You take on your own role in the world, and adventure through both fun and danger with a cinematic system that easily shares the spotlight while also building in plenty of space for the heart and soul that is so prevalent in the series. And don't be shy about looking out for a cameo or two! With a powerful training system that encourages you to search for a master, you just might run into Toph, Tenzin, or perhaps even the Avatar themselves!
Suz PhDM
I want the fight sequences to be so much more dynamic that they sometimes are with this system. I'd encourage folks to play fast and loose when you get to combat! A quicker table can make all the difference. But that's just me.
How to Create a Character and Play Avatar Legends: The RPG
Learn how to make a character and get rolling in the Avatar Legends roleplaying game in less than twenty minutes with this video! Avatar Legends is based on the Powered by the Apocalypse engine, which is easy to pick up and run with.
To make a character, you'll choose one of the playbooks, each of which revolves around a character's role in the group and the central internal conflict of their archetype. For example, the Guardian, a protector who must balance self-reliance and trust in others; the Successor, an heir bearing the weight of expectation and must balance progress with tradition; or the Icon, a duty-bound character who must balance their freedom and their role. Your character concept will help you determine their name, origin, personality, fighting style, and training, including whether they're a waterbender, earthbender, firebender, airbender, weapon master, or gadgeteer. You'll also assign bonuses (or penalties) to their stats: Creativity, Focus, Harmony, and Passion. Finally, you'll choose a special move they start with, an ability unique to their playbook, and you're ready to go!
In play, Avatar Legends works like a conversation, divided into scenes, where the GM describes the situation, and the players decide what to do. The game has several rules called "moves," which are triggered when characters attempt specific actions which are risky or dramatic, like assessing a situation, tricking someone, pushing their luck, or relying on their skills and training. These moves usually require players to roll 2d6 and add a relevant stat. If the total is 6 or less, it's a miss, and things go badly for them. On a 7-9, it's a success, but with some cost or complication. On a 10 or better, it's a complete success, and they get what they wanted!
In combat, players have access to several techniques (and can train and learn more over the course of their adventures). Generally, players will choose at the beginning of a fight whether to attack, defend, or evade and roll to see how well they fare. Players will have opportunities to talk to opponents as combat proceeds, and are encouraged to seek nonviolent solutions, but sometimes a fight is simply inevitable. Fighting might cause you to mark fatigue, representing expended energy and stamina, or mark conditions, emotional impacts that impose penalties on certain types of moves and must be cleared through the support of allies or by taking dramatic, often destructive action.
Frequently asked questions about Avatar Legends: The RPG
Explore Avatar Legends: The RPG Classes
The Adamant
A zealous advocate with a heart of gold and a diamond-hard will, ready to do what it takes to fix the world. Their balance principles are Restraint vs. Results.
The Adrift
They used to do exactly what they were told, never stepping out of line or really having an identity of their own, and now they’re putting themselves out there and fighting for something they believe in. Their balance principles are Risk vs Stability.
The Architect
They created a marvel and a whole organization rose to steward that marvel in the world…but they don’t have direct control over the organization and struggle to guide it. Their balance principles are Planning vs Discovery.
The Aspirant
They are deeply and fully committed to the group’s overall focus, but they believe they need the help of public opinion to achieve real positive change in the world. Their balance principles are Legacy vs Adoration.
The Authority
They lead a faction with power and presence throughout the setting. Sometimes, they serve the faction’s desires, but sometimes they must be true to their own beliefs. Their balance principles are Service vs Self.
The Bold
A charming adventurer who knows they’re greater than others assume, striving to show their worth. Their balance principles are Loyalty vs. Confidence.
The Bound
They serve an institution in a position of importance and responsibility. The rules and obligations of their position are clear and even comforting in the strength they provide, but they don’t always align with the Bound’s sense of justice. Their balance principles are Duty vs Justice.
The Broken
They endured a terrible tragedy that broke them as a person, but now they are rebuilding themselves. They are determining whether they should return to who they were before or become someone new altogether. Their balance principles are Restoration vs Reinvention.
The Destined
They are known to have some important, incredible fate before them…but exactly what that fate is, when it will come for them, and how it will play out all remain to be seen. Their balance principles are Patience vs. Determination.
The Elder
They have seen much, been to many places, and done much. Now esteemed and successful, they have much to teach…but they also have the wisdom to see they have much to learn. Their balance principles are Experience vs. Humility.
The Foundling
They are the inheritor of two traditions, two cultures, two frameworks of training and philosophies. They are constantly trying to represent the best of both, and sometimes to combine them into something new. Their balance principles are Unity vs. Heritage.
The Guardian
A protector and defender, devoted to others…perhaps to their own detriment; they have adopted one of their companions as their ward. Their balance principles are Self-Reliance vs. Trust.
The Hammer
A fighter, looking to solve problems by smashing them, even when that might not be the right solution. Their balance principles are Force vs. Care.
The Icon
A chosen figure of an ancient tradition, expected to carry forward the duties of their role regardless of what they want. Their balance principles are Role vs. Freedom.
The Idealist
A survivor of some terrible harm, now struggling to maintain hope and a belief in the good of the world and others. Their balance principles are Forgiveness vs. Action.
The Outcast
They were thrown out of their hometown for a conflict over their integrity, and now they’re finding ways to belong while staying true to themselves. Their balance principles are Society vs Integrity.
The Pillar
A proficient leader, coming from their own special team but now devoted to this new group of companions, trying to help the others to cohere. Their balance principles are Support vs. Leadership.
The Prodigy
An extraordinarily capable practitioner of their training, but that tends to make them a bit too arrogant and isolated. Their balance principles are Excellence vs. Community.
The Razor
They were raised to be a weapon, a tool for their masters to use against enemies. But they have seen a better way forward, and now they seek to make up for the terrible things they did and what they were taught to do. Their balance principles are Control vs. Connection.
The Rogue
A vagabond who has struggled to survive—they’ve never felt they belonged, and they’ve become a rebel and a troublemaker to make it. Their balance principles are Friendship vs. Survival.
The Successor
The inheritor of a massively powerful legacy, known all over, with its own dark history. Their balance principles are Tradition vs. Progress.
Virtual table tops for Avatar Legends: The RPG (VTTs)
Blog links about Avatar Legends: The RPG
How to Create an Avatar Legends RPG Character
Follow this easy guide to create a character ready to explore the incredible world of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The Best VTT for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game
Want to play the Avatar RPG, but you and your friends are scattered across the Four Nations? Play together online with these virtual tabletops.
The Best Place to Find an Avatar Legends Game Online
Everything changed when the scheduling conflicts attacked. Avoid the hassle and find a group that plays Avatar Legends consistently with these resources.